Pac NW fans may understand the headline — Timberline Lodge up on Mt Hood OR has taken over the former Summit Pass ski area down in Government Camp, OR. If you go from the top of Palmer to the bottom of Summit (sort of an odd expression there), you get a vertical drop of 4,540 feet. Now the two sections do connect by a couple of trails, but there’s no left to reconnect back up and if you’ve ever been to Timberline, it’s a long way to hitchhike. Regardless, it’s an impressive resort, and the lower section will be called Timberline Summit. I imagine we’ll see a lift in the next couple seasons. Photo above is the beloved Summit Pass lodge down in Govvy, you can see the summit of Mt Hood in the background and yes my legs hurt just thinking about it…up in Washington State, 49 Degrees North has added a new high speed summit quad, that ought to be awesome…and since we’re in that part of the world, might as well report on Alaska’s Alyeska Resort, they’ve fired up the guns and are planning a Dec 10 opening…Hey if you’re looking for reasonably priced Christmas gifts for New England ski enthusiasts, a friend of mine in New Hampshire has some really cool stuff for sale on Etsy, definitely gets the old school stamp of approval. Here’s the link to his Etsy page. Wicked awesome!